ORHS a finalist for prize recognizing improvements in student achievement

Oak Ridge High School is one of twelve finalists for a prize that recognizes schools in Tennessee that have most dramatically improved student achievement.

Two other high schools, Maryville and Covington, also made the list, which was announced Tuesday by State Collaborative on Reforming Education, or SCORE, a nonprofit organization founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

The finalists include elementary, middle, and high schools, and school districts in Tennessee. They are competing for the third annual SCORE Prize. School winners will be announced in October and receive $10,000, and the district winner will collect $25,000.

Here is the list of finalists:

Elementary

• McPheeter’s Bend Elementary, Hawkins County Schools
• Mt. Carmel Elementary, Hawkins County Schools
• Norman Smith Elementary, Clarksville-Montgomery County School District

Middle

• Frank P. Brown Elementary, Cumberland County Schools
• Freedom Preparatory Academy, Memphis City Schools
• Rose Park Math and Science Middle Magnet, Metro Nashville Public Schools

High

• Covington High School, Tipton County Schools
• Maryville High School, Maryville City Schools
• Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge City Schools

District

• Greeneville City Schools
• Kingsport City Schools
• Trousdale County Schools

“The SCORE Prize recognizes public schools and school systems that exemplify how to improve academic performance even as we raise academic expectations in our state,” said SCORE President and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Woodson, a former Tennessee state senator. “Each of the 2013 SCORE Prize finalists is demonstrating remarkable success in preparing students for college and careers. We applaud them, their educators, their students, their parents, and their communities for leading the way in helping Tennessee toward its goal of demonstrating the fastest improvement in academic achievement in the nation.”

The SCORE Prize is the hallmark data-based effort in Tennessee to recognize schools and districts that are doing outstanding work to improve student achievement. The SCORE Prize will award $10,000 to each elementary, middle, and high school winner and $25,000 to the district winner. Winners and finalists are also highlighted throughout the year as part of SCORE’s work to identify and share practices that improve student academic performance.

The SCORE Prize uses a two-step process to identify finalists and winners. In the first stage, finalists were identified through a weighted criteria selection process that took into account growth from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) and performance on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP). College-readiness data, such as ACT and graduation rates, were considered for high schools and districts.

Here are more details on the performance of the finalists:

• McPheeter’s Bend Elementary has noteworthy three-year growth in reading, math, and science. The school also has strong TCAP performance in reading, math, and science. The school has achieved these results while serving a student population that is 64 percent low-income.
• Mt. Carmel Elementary has strong three-year growth in reading, math, and science. In addition, Mt. Carmel has narrowed the TCAP achievement gap between low-income and higher-income students in science by 13.3 points from 2011 to 2013.
• Norman Smith Elementary has strong three-year growth in reading, math, and science as it served a large school population (more than 500 students) with a high proportion of low-income students (77 percent).
• Frank P. Brown Elementary, a K-8 school, has high achievement and high growth with strong three-year growth in reading, math, and science.
• Freedom Preparatory Academy, a charter school in Memphis, was selected because of exceptional growth in math, reading, and science. Freedom Prep’s three-year growth in math was particularly strong and the school narrowed the achievement gap between low-income and higher income students by 7.8 points in science from 2011 to 2013.
• Rose Park Math and Science Middle Magnet, a non-selective magnet, has strong growth and performance in all subjects and notable achievement gap closures. The gap between white and African-American students closed by 8.9 points in math and 18.1 points in science from 2011 to 2013. The gap between white and Hispanic students narrowed by 28.7 points in math and 6.7 points in science from 2011 to 2013. Rose Park was the middle school winner of last year’s SCORE Prize.
• Covington High School has exceptional growth across subjects with math improvement among the highest in the state. Covington also had strong performance on the college readiness index, which includes ACT growth, ACT performance, and graduation rates, while serving a student population is 69 percent low-income. Covington High School was the 2012 SCORE Prize winner in the high school category.
• Maryville High School has strong performance and growth across all subjects, including notable growth in science. Maryville’s high ACT growth and its average ACT composite of 24 make it a standout on the college readiness index. Maryville High School was a 2011 SCORE Prize finalist in the high school category.
• Oak Ridge High School shows strong performance and growth across all subjects, particularly improvement in math and science. Oak Ridge also did well on the college readiness index with high ACT growth and an average ACT composite of 23.
• Greeneville City Schools has strong growth across many subjects at all levels, with particularly notable performance in math. Greeneville, where 47 percent of students are low-income, also has strong college readiness results, including an average ACT composite of 22.
• Kingsport City Schools has strong growth across many subjects at all levels and particularly notable performance in college readiness with a district-wide ACT composite of 22. Gaps between white and African-American students, white and Hispanic students, and low-income and higher-income students have narrowed in both math and science from 2011 to 2013.
• Trousdale County Schools has strong growth across all subjects at all levels and particularly notable growth in Algebra I and Biology. The district also has above-average performance on the college readiness index, including strong ACT growth over the last two years. Achievement gaps between white and African-American students, white and Hispanic students, and low-income and higher-income students have narrowed in math and science from 2011 to 2013.

The second stage of SCORE Prize selection will consist of site visits to the finalists to document the policies and practices that have enabled them to make significant gains in student achievement. The prize selection process is guided by a committee of educators and community partners.

The winners of the SCORE Prize will be announced at 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 28, at Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. The event will be hosted by SCORE Chairman and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and will highlight the outstanding work of the finalists. Country music artist Jo Dee Messina will provide a special musical performance.

The SCORE Prize event is held in conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Education’s annual Education LEADership Conference (LEAD). Tickets for the SCORE Prize event are $5. To reserve a seat and learn more about the SCORE Prize visit www.tnscore.org/scoreprize.